Brussel, November 19th 2009 - Bacteria possess an ingenious mechanism for preventing oxygen from harming the building blocks of the cell. This is the new finding of a team of biologists that includes Joris Messens of VIB, a life sciences research institute in Flanders, Belgium, connected to the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. The scientists made this discovery by modifying the DNA of the intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli. By means of this model organism, they have uncovered the existence of a mechanism that repairs proteins in the cell that have been damaged by oxygen. There are indications that a similar repair system is active in human cells. The research results are being published in the eminent scientific journal Science. At the same time, the researchers are posting an animation online that illustrates the finding.

Proteins are extremely sensitive to oxidation

Proteins are the most important components of our body's cells. They aid the chemical reactions in the cell, provide structure and support, and facilitate communication within the organism. However, proteins are particularly sensitive to harmful effects from oxygen (oxidation). This is certainly the case for proteins that contain sulfurous components, with the amino acid cysteine as the basis. This is why the cysteine building blocks often occur as pairs, in which the bond between the two sulfur atoms provides protection.

But the cell also contains proteins in which the cysteine building blocks appear alone. How these single cysteines have been protected against oxygen has been unclear. Until now. Studying E. coli, the team of scientists, under the leadership of Jean-Franois Collet of the de Duve Institute (UCLouvain), has identified how two proteins - DsbG and DsbC - form the basis of an ingenious repair mechanism. Should the cysteine building block of a protein become damaged by oxygen, one of the two proteins takes care of repairing the damage'/>"/>

(Date:3/12/2015)... N.C. , March 12, 2015 The ... at Brenner Children,s Hospital, part of Wake Forest Baptist ... outreach initiative for the 2015 ACC Men,s Basketball Tournament. ... pictures with them and getting their autographs. ... Forest Baptist. It is the only children,s hospital in ...

(Date:3/11/2015)... , Mar. 11, 2015 Research and Markets ... the "Access Control Market by Product, Application & ... report to their offering. , This ... to reach $10.4 billion by 2020, with an estimated ... report covers the products types such as contact cards ...

(Date:3/10/2015)... 10, 2015 Transforming How We ... "Personalized Medicine in Human Space Flight" by ... Goodwin , Ph.D. was recently featured by Springer Science ... years. Specifically, "Personalized Medicine in Human Space ... published in 2013 and 2014 from Springer in the ...

... a hormone released by the lining of the stomach that ... obesity -- in fact, a vaccine that lowers ghrelin levels ... treatment for obesity. However, many people eat as a ... its effectiveness as a treatment for obesity may be reduced. ...

... Borderea chouardii plant, which is critically endangered and is ... employs a unique and risky doubly mutualistic reproductive strategy with ... open access journal PLOS ONE . The researchers, ... (CSIC), found that two ant species acted as the main ...

... bacteria ever-present on the human skin and previously considered harmless, ... painful, recurring swelling of the sinuses that strikes more than ... by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. ... Science Translational Medicine that sinusitis may be linked to ...

(Date:3/30/2015)... Multiple new research abstracts suggest walnuts may have ... From their impact on colon cancer and certain aspects ... gut health and vascular health, the research findings presented ... of walnuts, inner workings. Running March 28 through April ... meeting attracts an international audience of over 14,000 leading ...

(Date:3/30/2015)... New Jersey Health Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that ... New Jersey , has committed $1 ... James M. Golubieski , president. Through ... an additional $500,000 will be available for awards of ... projects that demonstrate exciting potential and may lead to ...

(Date:3/30/2015)... March 30, 2015 /CNW/ - A new national Labour ... salaries and demographic profiles of new graduates entering the ... – Building Careers for New Grads in Biotech," is ... Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) and features data collected from ... wage subsidy program from 2013 to 2015. ...

... my wishes are,coming true," says Kristin Shumpert, who is traveling from ... of Las,Vegas ... and to meet the people who "saved my ... held little interest to the young,woman who suffers from a devastating ... time to use the ladies, room. , ...

... commercial life sciences sales experience to Cyntellect , ... a privately-held life sciences company leading the development and commercialization ... it has appointed Andre Lubarsky as the Company,s Director of ... sales of Cyntellect,s cell purification and cell health products in ...